How to Find an Alignment Star for a Meade LX200
The most recent models of the Meade LX200 telescope can find any star in their object library right out of the box. Earlier models, such as the LX200 Classic, need to know the time, the location and the current position of a given star before they can automatically locate other objects in the night sky. Because there are so many reference stars to choose from, it's easy to get the idea that locating a reference star is complicated. However, if you can find three of the most familiar constellations, you can easily set up your LX200 any time of the year.
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Instructions
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Look for the constellation Orion, "The Hunter," in the southern sky from December to March. Orion is easy to recognize from the three closely aligned stars in his "belt." The star on his right "shoulder" -- your left -- is Betelgeuse, and the star at his left "hip" is Rigel. The LX200 can use either of these stars for alignment.
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Look for the Big Dipper in the Northern sky from April to September. The star at the very tip of the "handle" is Alkaid, which the LX200 can use as a reference star.
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Find the constellation Cygnus, "The Swan," in the Northern sky in October and November. Cygnus will look like a cross lying on its side -- the bright star at the head of this cross is Deneb. Deneb can serve as a star to orient the LX200.
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Tips & Warnings
The manual for the Meade LX200 has complete sky maps for each month to help you find other reference stars. If you don't have the manual, look up one of the many constellation-finding stars on the Web.
To "lock" the telescope onto the reference star, you need to line that star up in the telescope's eyepiece, but it's always a good idea to find the star in the viewfinder scope first. The eyepiece shows stars at such a high magnification that it's easy to get "lost in space."
These instructions will work for observers in the Northern Hemisphere. For viewing in the Southern Hemisphere or in equatorial regions, consult the LX200 user manual.
If you're looking for your reference star late at night -- after 9 p.m. -- the constellation may have dropped below the horizon. If so, try a constellation for a later month.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit orions belt image by Antony McAulay from Fotolia.com
